Steel barrel handling appliance

ABSTRACT

An elongated handle terminates in three circumferentially spaced substantially rigid arms diverging at acute angles from the axis of said handle. Two of said arms on their outer ends have curved hook portions adapted to grip the rolled outwardly projecting annular end rim of a standard steel barrel or drum. The end of the third arm is provided with a clamping device in the form of an adjustable cam which extends beneath the outwardly projecting annular rim of the barrel so that, when tightened, it draws the ends of the arms into tightly gripping engagement with the outwardly projecting annular rim of the barrel or drum.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,897,096

Garrison et al. Jul 29, 1975 [5 STEEL BARREL HANDLING APPLIANCE I 3,278,218 10/1966 Lebre 294/103 X 1 1 7470 Gerald 313281522 32323 2235582:3:1:13::3:1:::.......:::::::"ai?; 3

Ave., Warren, Mich. 48092; Billy T. fi p g Mamtou Clawson' Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry [22] Filed: Mar. 18, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 452,776 [571 ABSTRACT An elongated handle terminates in three circumferentially spaced substantially rigid arms diverging at acute 8 294/4 angles from the axis of said handle. Two of said arms [58] i 394/4 1547 on their outer ends have curved hook portions 294/19 R 31 67 DA 81 R 9o 92 103 adapted to grip the rolled outwardly projecting annu- 2l4/377 2 2 lar end rim of a standard steel barrel or drum. The end of the third arm is provided with a clamping device in the form of an adjustable cam which extends beneath [56] References Cited the outwardly projecting annular rim of the barrel so UNITED STATES PATENTS that, when tightened, it draws the ends of the arms 322,019 7/1885 Spencer 294/17 into tightly gripping engagement with the outwardly 551,167 12/1895 Kobold ..294/4 projecting annularrim f h bangle, drum 2,416,016 2/1947 McKenna 294/15 2,756,089 7/1956 Meloy 294/31 R 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FIG. I

' PATENTEDJULZQIQYS fix 42 STEEL BARREL HANDLING APPLIANCE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a tripod-like gripping device for engaging the rolled rim of the barrel, whereby the handle attached thereto may be swung downward so as to tiltthe barrel and enable it to be rolled along the ground or floor upon its annular bottom rim. This appliance enables one man to conveniently handle such barrels or drums, and its rigidity of construction prevents relative tilting between the barrel or drum and the appliance and thus prevents loss of control thereof.

In the drawing FIG. 1 is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of a steel barrel handling appliance, according to one form of the invention, immediately after its attachment to the barrel but before the barrel is otherwise handled;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the appliance shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section, taken along the line 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, looking in the direction of the arrows 44 in FIG. 2, of the hooked gripping portion on the end of one of the non-adjustable arms when in gripping engagement with the barrel rim;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation, on a still further reduced scale, of the appliance in use while rolling a barrel along a floor; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the adjustable clamping device shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a steel barrel handling appliance, generally designated 10, according to one form of the invention as attached to a standard steel drum or barrel 12 of the well known 55-gallon type used for transporting and storing oil and other commodities. Such a barrel or drum 12 consists of a generally cylindrical side wall 14 closed at its bottom end by a bottom wall 16 and at its top end by a top wall 18. Projecting outward from the side wall 14 at the margins of its top and bottom walls 18 and 16 are upper and lower annular rolled rims 20 and 22 respectively, and intermediate these rims are reinforcing annular rolled portions 24. The foregoing features are of conventional and standardized construction and dimensions for such barrels or drums 12.

The steel barrel handling appliance is manipulated by an elongated handle 26 provided near its upper end with a hand grip 28. Near its lower end 30 the handle 26, which is preferably of tubular steel construction, is provided with two fixed gripping arms 32 and an adjustable gripping arm 34, the upper ends of said arms 32 and 34 being welded or otherwise firmly secured to the lower end 30 of the handle 26. To prevent spreading, the arms 32 and 34 are preferably reinforced by brace bars 36 having their opposite ends 38 secured as by welding to the arms 32 intermediate their upper and lower ends 40 and 42 respectively. The arms 32 and 34 and the reinforcing bars 36, for increased strength and rigidity, are preferably tubular or of angle or channel cross-section and are preferably made of steel for the same reason. In effect, they form a substantially rigid tripod which imparts stability and prevents the barrel or drum 12 from tilting relatively to the handle 20. Formed integrally with the flattened lower ends 42 of the two fixed gripping arms 32 are arcuate hook portions 44 (FIG. 4) which extend around and engage the rolled upper rim 20 of the barrel or drum 12.

The lower end 42 of the adjustable gripping arm 34 is provided with an adjustable clamping device, generally designated 46 (FIG. 3). The lower end 42 of the adjustable gripping arm 34 is bored at 48 to rotatably receive a pivot shaft 50 (FIG. 3) to which is secured a clamping cam 52 and below it an operating handle 54. The cam 52 has a gripping periphery 56 disposed eccentrically to the pivot shaft 50 and positioned, together with the lower end 42 of the adjustable gripping arm 34 so as to locate the cam edge 56 immediately below the upper rolled rim 20, in a position similar to the arcuate hook portions 44 located at the lower ends 42 of the two fixed gripping arms 32. The pivot shaft 50 is secured in any appropriate way against dropping out of the lower end 42 of the adjustable gripping arm 34, such as by being grooved (not shown) near its upper end to receive a suitable anchoring pin or bolt (also not shown).

In the operation of the steel barrel handling appliance 10 of the invention, the operator swings the handle 54 in a counterclockwise direction around the pivot shaft 50 to move the clamping cam 52 outward as far as necessary to subsequently clear the rolled edge 20 of the barrel or drum 12. Assuming the barrel or drum 12 to be in a vertical position shown in FIG. 1, the operator grasps the elongated handle 26 and hand grip 28 and tilts them away from him (away from the plane of the drawing sheet in FIG. 1 and toward the top of the sheet in FIG. 2) so as to enable the arcuate hook portions 44 at the lower ends 42 of the two fixed gripping arms 32 to be inserted beneath the outwardly projecting annular rim 20 at the upper end of the barrel or drum 12. The operator then tilts the handle 26 in the reverse direction into a vertical position so that the cam edge 56 of the cam 52 passes beneath the rolled rim 20, whereupon he swings the handle 54 in a clockwise direction to rotate the eccentric cam edge 56 into gripping engagement with the side wall 14 of the barrel or drum 12 immediately beneath the rolled upper rim 20.

The operator now pulls the handle 26 and the hand grip 28 toward himself to tilt the barrel or drum 12 into the inclined position shown in FIG. 5. He then rolls the barrel or drum 12 on its lower rolled rim 22 along the supporting surface 58, such as the floor or roadway, or up the ramp of a freight vehicle or ship, using the fixed arms 32 and the adjustable arm 34 to assist him in this work. When the barrel or drum 12 has been brought to the desired location, the operator again swings the elongated handle 26 and handle 28 again into a vertical position so that the bottom wall 16 of the barrel or drum 12 rests upon the floor 58 of its new location, whether in a building or in a vehicle.

We claim:

1. A handling appliance for rolling on one of its ends a barrel or drum having an outwardly projecting annular end rim, said appliance comprising a substantially vertical handle,

three substantially rigid barrel-handling arms having upper and lower ends thereon,

said upper ends of said arms being connected to said handle,

said arms being inclined downward and outward away from their connections to said handle in a substantially rigid tripod formation extending substantially to the rim of the barrel or drum,

said lower ends of said three arms being disposed in circumferentially spaced relationship upon a circular arc exceeding a semicircle,

and a rim-gripping element secured to each of said lower ends of said arms,

at least one of said elements being adjustably mounted on the lower end of its respective arm for motion toward and away from the elements on the other arms.

2. A handling appliance, according to claim 1, wherein there are three such elements, two of said elements being hook-shaped and fixedly mounted on their respective arms and the third element being pivotally ends of their respective arms. 

1. A handling appliance for rolling on one of its ends a barrel or drum having an outwardly projecting annular end rim, said appliance comprising a substantially vertical handle, three substantially rigid barrel-handling arms having upper and lower ends thereon, said upper ends of said arms being connected to said handle, said arms being inclined downward and outward away from their connections to said handle in a substantially rigid tripod formation extending substantially to the rim of the barrel or drum, said lower Ends of said three arms being disposed in circumferentially spaced relationship upon a circular arc exceeding a semicircle, and a rim-gripping element secured to each of said lower ends of said arms, at least one of said elements being adjustably mounted on the lower end of its respective arm for motion toward and away from the elements on the other arms.
 2. A handling appliance, according to claim 1, wherein there are three such elements, two of said elements being hook-shaped and fixedly mounted on their respective arms and the third element being pivotally mounted on its respective arm for pivotal motion toward and away from the fixedly mounted elements.
 3. A handling appliance, according to claim 2, wherein said adjustably mounted element includes a rim-gripping cam rotatably mounted on its respective arm.
 4. A handling appliance, according to claim 1, wherein brace members are connected to said arms in a triangular formation in spaced relationship to said upper and lower ends of said arms.
 5. A handling appliance, according to claim 1, wherein said arms are tubular and wherein two of said rim-gripping elements comprise integral bent lower ends of their respective arms. 